Have you ever felt defined by your worst moment? Like one failure, one mistake, or one traumatic experience has become the story of who you are?
In this raw, honest conversation, I sit down with Pushcart Prize-winning poet Dr. Ravi Shankar to explore how writing can literally set us free—whether we're behind bars or trapped in our own stories.
Dr. Shankar went from being the youngest tenured professor in Connecticut College history to spending 90 days in jail. What happened inside those walls changed everything. Now he teaches creative writing to incarcerated people using "bibliotherapy"—the practice of using writing as a path to healing.
In this episode, Ravi shares the exact prompts and practices he uses to help people transform pain into power, face their shadows without drowning in shame, and break free from the labels society has placed on them.
This isn't just about writing. It's about liberation.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
WANT TO TRY IT?
Start with these three prompts:
ABOUT DR. RAVI SHANKAR:
Dr. Ravi Shankar is a Pushcart Prize-winning poet and author of the award-winning memoir Correctional, which chronicles his 90 days in jail and the men he met there. He teaches creative writing at Tufts University, bringing college classes into correctional facilities to help incarcerated people heal and reclaim their voices through bibliotherapy. He's authored 18 books and appeared on NPR, PBS, and in The New York Times.
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